15


"You've got sauce on your face." Calum chuckled, reaching across the table to wipe the sauce from the corner of Luke's mouth- like a mother.

He ruffled Luke's hair with his other hand before sitting back down.

Ashton grimaced, "I hate when you do that, it's so unsanitary."

"I'm just trying to make sure y'all aren't making fools out of yourselves", Calum huffed, holding his hands up in surrender, "But if you wanna keep your sauce facials be my guest."

"Hey. I love my sauce-faced fiancé- how else do I ward the suitors away?" Michael exclaimed.

"I'm pretty sure the shiny ring on my finger would ward them off." Luke scoffed, playfully.

"You'd think, but if you weren't engaged to me there'd be nothing stopping me from shooting my shot at you", Michael jeered, "You're an eligible bachelor up until that marriage license is approved."

"Well I am engaged to you so..." Luke quipped with a smile, pecking Michael on the lips.

They all ate their pizza and conversed about everything under the sun- even though they'd only been apart a week or two.

"How was it- meeting the Clifford's?" Ashton quizzed.

"His parents are lovely", Luke gleamed, "I was practically Michael's arm candy when it came to the rest of his family."

Ashton laughed.

"That's so not true!" Michael scoffed, throwing a napkin at him.

"I don't doubt it." Ashton chuckled.

Michael stuck his tongue out at the boy.

"You shouldn't be talking", Calum scoffed, looking towards Luke, "He told his family we were engaged so that they'd stop hounding him about getting married."

"Ash! You did not!" Luke gasped.

"I panicked! It was too late to take it back!" Ashton exclaimed.

Michael and Luke broke out into hysterical laughter.

"That's great- that's so fucking good, oh my god." Michael laughed.

"Yeah and I had to save Mr. Great Ideas over here when they started asking where my ring was." Calum huffed.

"What did you tell them?" Luke quizzed.

"I told them he was getting it re-sized." Calum explained.

"They lectured me about not sizing his finger before hand." Ashton scoffed.

"That's not even the worst part!" Calum exclaimed, "They started asking us how he proposed!"

Michael was still dying of laughter. He was keeled over in Luke's lap.

Luke ran his fingers through Michael's hair.

"What did you say?" Luke questioned.

"Ashton told them about how he proposed to me at a fountain after a fancy dinner. He told them all about how I fell in and then when I wiped the water from my eyes, he was on his knee." Calum jeered, explaining the story of how Michael proposed to Luke.

"Hey! It's was slippery!" Luke spat.

Michael sat up, "How original of you."

"I panicked! Besides I've heard the story of your proposal more times than I can count on my fingers." Ashton quipped.

It was a great story, Luke would admit, but that was also biased of him.

Michael had taken him out to a fancy dinner and outside was this absolutely beautiful fountain.

It was massive, two tiers with the most intricate details.

Michael had let go of his hand and had begun going on about how much he loved Luke.

At some point in the speech, Luke had stepped up onto the fountain ledge.

He merely took a small step back and ended up slipping right into the freezing cold fountain water.

Michael was already on his knee and broke out into the most real laughter.

Luke wiped the water from his eyes, pushing the hair from his face.

"Marry me, you clumsy boy." Michael jeered.

Luke held his hand out for Michael to help him up.

Michael stood to his feet and reached to pull Luke out, but instead was pulled into the freezing fountain beside Luke.

The two of them were now sitting in the freezing cold water in the dead of night, totally overcome with pure love.

"Only if you'll marry me." Luke jeered with a smile.

Michael chuckled, "I can live with that."

He grabbed Luke's face and smashed their lips together.

After the kiss, and after Michael found the ring box, he finally slid the ring onto Luke's finger.

It was one of the best days of Luke's life.

Even after, Luke and Michael spent the next week after sick from the cold, Luke wouldn't change a thing.

"I can't believe you stole our engagement story." Michael huffed.

Luke chuckled, "Well congrats on your engagement, I guess."

"Fake engagement." Calum corrected.

Ashton turned to Calum, "I'm sorry, okay? I promised I'd make it up to you."

"Well now you need to double make it up to me, after I had to stand on the side of the highway for an hour because your piece of shit car broke down-" Calum spat.

Ashton gasped offendedly, "Shelia is not a piece of shit. She just needs extra love."

"No Ash, she's awful." Luke piped up.

"Yeah, dude, I've been telling you to get rid of that thing for years." Michael jeered.

"Woah, woah", Ashton quipped, holding his hands up in surrender, "I feel attacked."

"As you should." Calum scoffed.

It was funny to Luke the different dynamics of their relationships.

Michael and Luke were so lovey dove-y and sweet it gave everyone cavities, while Cal and Ash acted more like they hated each other so much that they loved each other.

Luke looked around the table at his laughing and bickering friends.

He realized how much he missed his family being all in one place.

The world didn't exist outside of their little bubble.

It was just the four of them in their little booth, in a pizza shop, talking about fake engagements and shitty cars.

Nothing else mattered.

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